The High Representative in London meeting Jack
Straw
The High Representative, Paddy Ashdown, is in
London
today where he meets
British Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jack Straw. During the meeting the HR
will outline progress made so far regarding co-operation, in particular
RS, with the ICTY.
The HR will breif Minister Straw on police reform, one of the last
outstanding key reforms required by the EU for BiH to move to negotiations on a
Stabilisation and Association Agreement. The High Representative will underline
that the EC Consultative Task Force timetable dictates that BiH’s political
parties must be ready to start formal negotiations on police restructuring by
the end of this month and before BiH moves in to the crucial period of
assessment that will be done by EC CTF.
PIC Meets in
Tomorrow
Tomorrow the High Representative is in Brusseles where he will chair a
meeting of the Political Directors of the Peace Implementation Council. This PIC
is particularly important as it is the last ahead of a series of crucial
meetings later this month and in May at which the status of BiH’s aspirations to
join NATO’s PfP and begin Stabilisation and Association negotiations with the EU
will be discussed.
At tomorrow’s meeting the BiH authorities, led by Prime Minister Adnan
Terzic, will report on the steps they have taken in order to move forward with
key reforms, focusing on Police Restructuring, Defence Reform, economic and
institutional reforms related to the Feasibility Study requirements, and
cooperation with the ICTY.
This will be Ambassador Werner Wnendt’s last PIC as SDHR. Ambassador Wnendt,
as you know, is moving to Kosovo where he will lead the OSCE Mission. It will be
the first PIC at which Ambassador Larry Butler participates in the capacity of
Principal Deputy High Representative.
